Geneva, Switzerland - The death toll continues to rise as the relentless indiscriminate campaign continues against eastern Ghouta. There were 70 civilians killed today and over 296 wounded. A total of 13 hospitals and humanitarian facilities were also targeted, leaving thousands in a humanitarian catastrophe. One nurse was killed in the attacks. A total of 22 hospitals have been put out of service since Sunday. Today the following medical facilities were attacked:

21 February 2018 - The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is profoundly concerned by the ongoing bombardment of the Eastern Ghouta area outside Damascus by Syrian government forces. Reliable reports indicate that major roads, bakeries, and food warehouses have been deliberately targeted, and that several hospitals have also been hit. Hundreds have died, many more have been injured, and thousands of people are living in terror under threat of further bombardment. Damascus itself has also come under retaliatory fire, with neighborhoods hit with mortar shells.

Washington, D.C.- Over the past 48 hours, besieged East Ghouta has been subjected to an intense campaign of aerial bombardment, killing at least 250 civilians and injuring more than 460. The 400,000 besieged residents have experienced a barrage of airstrikes, barrel bombs, and surface-to-surface missiles, weapons known to cause disproportionate loss and injury to civilians.

February 20, 2018 Geneva, Switzerland - Eight medical facilities were attacked today in Eastern Ghouta, for a total of 13 hospital attacks in 48 hours. Reports state there have been over 127 airstrikes today and countless mortars and artillery strikes. Barrel bombs, an illegal weapon which cause massive civilian casualties, have also been used. This has paralyzed the already crippled medical infrastructure in Ghouta. At least 200 civilians have been killed and over 700 wounded in the past two days. Many of the victims are women and children.

I am appalled and distressed by reports of the horrifying attacks against six hospitals in East Ghouta over the past 48 hours, resulting in a number of deaths and injuries, and depriving thousands of men, women and children of basic health services in the besieged enclave.

These attacks are completely unacceptable. I remind all parties that attacks against medical facilities is prohibited under international humanitarian law (IHL). Any such intentional attacks may amount to war crimes.

Amman, 20 February 2018 – Syrian humanitarian organizations have halted the delivery of life-saving aid to thousands of people in besieged Eastern Ghouta, after the heavy bombardment of the area near Damascus this week, which has pushed civilians including aid workers into underground shelters, announced CARE today.

“The situation in Eastern Ghouta is more critical than ever.

Despite their resilience for years, people are giving up hope for survival.

Overview
- Projections for the coming leans season suggest food stocks from the ongoing harvest will last through April in South Kordofan and through March in Blue Nile. This leaves a substantial gap as the next harvest would begin, at earliest, in August.
- There remains little to no access to basic pediatric care or medical supplies in both South Kordofan and Blue Nile, putting the child population at elevated risk of death from treatable diseases.

1. By its resolution 2387 (2017), the Security Council renewed the mandate of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) until 15 November 2018 and requested that I report on its implementation every four months. The present report is submitted pursuant to that resolution.

Unknown gunmen on 12 February ambushed three aid workers travelling in a vehicle in the northern Batangafo town, but released them hours later unharmed. Their vehicle was also recovered. Attacks against aid workers are frequent in the country where insecurity has significantly worsened over the past two years. Violence has forced hundreds of thousands more civilians to flee their homes and subjected them to extreme deprivation and hardship.

• In December WFP, both directly and through partnerships, provided food assistance to 1.23 people (98 percent of the plan of the month) through in-kind distributions (77 percent) and cash-based transfers (23 percent) in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 16 2018 (IPS) - Perhaps no major political or humanitarian disaster is as overlooked as the ongoing crisis in Libya. For example, although the New York Times in September 2017 published a total of seven articles mentioning Libya, only one of them touched on the violence ripping it apart. Even the Times’ gesture merely highlighted the latest permutation of the US government’s foreign military decisions.